Electrochemical industries: Industrial challenges and opportunities

Technical Report · Wed May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1996

OSTI ID:447509

Williams, D F ^[1]

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1. Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)

The distinction between process industries and electrochemical industries is not clear. Many chemicals can be produced by both thermal and electrochemical pathways. One can distinguish between the two by defining the electrochemical industry as those industries who use electrolysis to produce and separate materials that can be derived by no other means (reactive metals like Al, and the halogens). This also points up the fact that electrolysis is a hybrid synthesis-separation process. Electroseparations as applied to the process industries can be distinguished as an adjunct (due to enhanced selectivity or transport) or a distinct unit operation (e.g., electrodialysis), and by its integration into a larger process. The metal finishing/plating industry is a product dominated rather than process dominated industry, but the role of separations in cleanup of the effluent has become a critical issue in this area. The author has included this area in the discussion because it is tied to the electrochemical industries by its reliance on electrodeposition and control of electrode reactions. The organization of this discussion into the two distinct entities that were proposed failed because of the mature nature of the electrochemical industry and because of the background of the participants. The following represents a summary of both discussions.

• Research Organization: Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (United States); Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States); Barr Enterprises, Walkersville, MD (United States)
• OSTI ID: 447509
• Report Number(s): EPRI-TR--106434; CONF-9510408--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
CHEMICAL INDUSTRY
ELECTRIC FIELDS
ELECTROCHEMISTRY
ELECTROMETALLURGY
METAL INDUSTRY
SEPARATION PROCESSES
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
USES
WASTE PROCESSING